Tag: Beethoven

should you be concerned about telling your Schubert from your Beethoven,don’t fret, I myself, though considered by some in this area to be omniscient, however manifestly, as you’ll note here, erroneously, upon watching a film last night – the splendid ”Ex Machina”,about a robot in the form of AliciaVikander, viscerallycommanding in neon blue, which is to say, incandescent, with stainless steel and wires for body parts – arms, legs, stomach – as part of her more human, and curvaceous, attributes – face, chest, and pelvis – who fears she might be disassembled when her purpose is served, and a new, and better robot might not onlytake her place, but also her very physical and metaphysical components, and concocts to save her life, if that’s what you’d call it, however convincing, sophisticated, might be her replication – confused the Schubertsonatathat filtered through the score for one of Beethoven’s, though can you blame me, when the sci-fi tale had been so otherwise gripping

the D960, Schubert’s 23rd and last piano sonata, was written in 1828, shortly before he died, it is extraordinary, and entirely worthy of being compared to Beethoven,of being held, indeed, in equal consideration

you’ll note again Schubert’sreserve, his courtesy, he is philosophical, rather than combative, his reply to Fate is acquiescent, though never subordinate, his response to the challenge of Life is to display the colours, sounds, and other, however humble, ephemeral,perhaps eveninconsequential, attributes of his existence, with the grace of a very flower, whose essence we still, today,have not ceasedto acknowledge, and to profoundly admire

this is our only answer, he states, our ever so resplendent, however individual, humanity, which it is our very salvation to recount, to relate

between Bach’s transcendent Suites forCello and Beethoven’s reinvention of that instrument, two only cello works occupythe last half of that century, both by Haydn

his Second, however, Concerto, written several years later than his First, 1783, indeed nearly twenty years later, seems to me less accomplished, though ever, nevertheless, unimpeachably, and impressively, Haydn

the first movement is long, long works only until you start thinking it’s long

the initial melody in the adagio, the second movement, struck me as artificial, saccharine, though Haydn weaves magic, not unexpectedly, still, and continuously, around it in its development, his elaboration of it

and the pace of the third movement, following the second, is disconcerting rather than surprising, rather than, were it effective, delightful

Mozart wrote a Cello Concerto too, apparently, but, if so, it is lost

otherwise we’re on to the next historicalepoch, Beethoven’s, after this inauspicious turn at this generation for the cello, lost for a while among the more assertive instruments of that prim, and proper,Classical Era

what struck me immediately upon hearingthe bow’s very first strokes on the violin in this Fifth Cello Suite of Bach was that the mood was not only brashly Romantic, but quite specifically Russian Romantic, right up there with Dostoyevsky, and “Fiddleron the Roof“, dark brooding colours at first, followed by long plaintive musical phrases, you can even hear the sound of the steppes, I thought, stretching out into the endless distance, this performance,I surmised, is not, other than compositionally, Baroque, not to mention not even German

but more context – Bach never gave not only textural indications, but not even tempos to his pieces, apart from the very dance terms that identify the movements, so what, therefore, is the specific pace, you’ll ask, of a courante, for instance, you tell me, I’ll reply

in other words, the modular terms were significantly looser in the early 18th Century than later, when metronome markings would begin to demand moreaccurate replication of the artist’s explicit specifications – Beethoven especially made sure of that, by requiring accurate renderings of his mood or pace indications, largo, allegro, andante, for instance, still less strict than the stipulation later for exact musical beats per minute – trying to keep pace with a prerecorded tape, for example, as in again the industrially driven, which is to say emotionally indifferent, context of the seismic “Different Trains“, a masterpiece of a more technicallyconditioned era

I don’t think that Bach would at all havebeen disappointed that the heirs of his fervent, though more genteel, creations might’ve morphed into something profound for other groups, be they national, or of a class, or of even a generation, of people, which is to say that these works have superseded their merely regional intent, and have reached beyond space and time, the very purview of music, to speak a common and cooperative, indeed abinding, language

I said to my mom the other day that ifwe all sang together, we could savethe world

R ! chard

psst: Maisky’s encore,, incidentally, is from the “Bourrée”of Bach’s Third CelloSuite, note this contrasting, more courtly – morerefinement,more reserve – rendition, you can even hear, not to mentionsee, in thisparticular instance, notRussian steppes, but European treeson their baronial estates, if you lendan attentive ear

upon reading up somewhat on the differentBach Suites, I’ve provisionally concludedthat the earlier English Suites, 1715 to 1720,were a modification of the established form of the suite, which would not have included a prelude, which isn’t, indeed, a dance

but by the French Suites, 1722 to 1725, Bach is eschewing – Gesundheit – the prelude, but inserting, however, an air in his Fourth – an air is not either a dance – and mixing up their order in the later Suites, a minuet, for instance, in the last one of them, his Sixth, coming up after the gigue, which sports even also a polonaise, where in his Fifth, Bach adds a loure, I ask you, a slow French gigue, to his bristling concoction

the terms French and English, incidentally, were added only after Bach’s demise, for diverse and uncorroborated reasons, so that these titles probably don’t mean much to a contemporary audience, who can’t tell, anyway, our gavottes from our bourrées

the music of Bach is like that of no other composer, he owns essentially the BaroquePeriod, having, in fact, wrenched the Era from the painters, who’d established it in art to such a degree that it defined itsearlier historical phase

with Bach, the torch is handed over to music, from then on until the Impressionists, the period is defined by composers, both Classical, then Romantic, with some poets holding some sway

the technique that dominates the music of Bach is that of counterpoint, where a tune is repeated in the harmonizationa few beats from its first iteration, vocally, we call that singing in canon

his music is introspective, as though the player were privately meditating,it has the playfulness of Mozart, butMozart is expressive, not interior,therefore nowhere near as spiritual,Beethoven will return with a profundity that matches Bach’s, but with much more Sturm und Drang,tempestuous moral struggle, much less resignation, ouch, watch

listening to Bach for me is like getting on a train, and just letting the rhythmof the wheels sustain me, as I watch,indeed introspectively, the surrounding countryside, stopping at the musical journey’s several halts, its intervals, until its final destination, which despite, or even because of, taking sometimes hours, is neverthelessendlessly satisfying, and never ever less than, however improbably, inspiring

here’s Bach’s Third French Suite, you’ll note it includes an idiosyncratic “trio”, not strictly a recognized danceeither – leave it to the saucy French, I say, to consider interpolating a trio

before I say much more about his CelloSuites, let me point out that Bach hassome French Suites, some English Suites, on top of similarly structured Partitas and Toccatas, the French have their tout de suites, and hotels have, nowadays, their so named luxury apartments

musical suites are sets of dance pieces, by the early 18th Centurymuch stylized, with an introductory prélude, an allemande,followed by a courante, which is to say, folk dances, the first German, the next French, then a sarabande, Spanish, followed by a couple of galanteries,court dances, minuets, gavottes, bourrées, then a final English gigue

all of the markings are in French, whichleads me to believe that all of these dances must’ve originated at the court of Louis XlVth, the Sun King, 1638 to 1715

but the suggestion is that Europe was becoming an integrated communityall of these dances were eclipsed bythe Classical Period, of Haydn and Mozart, apart from the minuet, which more or less defined, nevertheless, that new era

the minuet will die out by the time ofBeethoven, you’ll note, to be replacedby the waltz, which had been considered much too racy until transformed by Chopin into a work of ethereal art

the Strausses, father and son, gave it,only a little later, celebratory potency,but that’s another story

here’s Bach’s English Suite, the 3rd, for context, the French ones are a little too salty, as it were, they do not quiteconform to prescribed suite notions, however might their propositions have been, ahem, sweet

but listen to how Haydn makes it glisten, explicitly, with articulations and filigree that render it utterly irresistible

the adagio is usually the moment thatremains immutable, if the composeris doing hir stuff, it’s the one you walk home singing, the faster movements,however histrionic, are nearly a dime a dozen, though ever nevertheless often dazzling

this adagio is utterly Romantic, thoughI’m sure Haydn didn’t know what he was doing, cause despite their pushagainst the democratic surge, even monarchists, princes, dukes, dutiful composers, were finding, and voicing, their personal, and individual, which is to say, theirdemocratic, opinions, however aristocratic their pedigree

artists had done a similar thing when their personalities began to single themselves out as especially gifted when the Renaissance was happening, it was now music’s hour, individual voices were staking their claim, Haydn’s manifestly superior based on talent and, after widespread economic affluence, audience appeal, Haydn’s commercial boots were made for walking, and he filled them bothmagnificently and incontrovertibly

the poco adagio; cantabile is notcourtly music, it reaches for notmerely elegance, but the heart,we’ve entered another transformational generation, something like the revolution that triggered change in the cultural upheaval of the1960s

our first step then was the Beatles, theirs was Haydn, or rather ElvisPresley shoring up the Beatles, Beethoven was more aptly John,Paul, George and Ringo

but watch the rapture on the players’ faces, Francis ll would’ve been appalled, much like parents in my generation facing the pill, drugs, unorthodox sexual couplings, and, of course, raucous and unruly rock music

today, under the spell of the Romantic Period, and encouragedby that very Sexual Revolution, theCalidore String Quartet’sElysium, their evident bliss, emotionally manifest, and utterly arresting, sells tickets, for better or, hopefully not, for worse

but you call the shots, to decorum or not to decorum, that is the question

first of all, let me grievously repent anegregious confusion I probably leftin my last diatribe, I said that the secondmovement of the Opus 54, no 2 sounded to me like a minuet, I had, through embarrassing inattention, confused its,however unmemorable, adagio with thatof this Opus 55, no 3, which I’d listened to in too quick succession, driven as I am by my thirst for epiphanies

the Opus 54, no 2 will do, but I’m not going back for seconds, nor to the Opus 55, no 3, though here’s where I flaunt nevertheless Haydn, not to mention Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, all the way to eventually Bruckner, Brahms, the extraordinary RichardWagner, passing through Schubert,Mendelssohn, the Strausses, fatherand son, and the unrelated Strauss,Richard, another incontrovertible giant, and I nearly left out the unforgettable Liszt, all of them forefathers of our present music

you might have noticed that these are all Germanic names, obedient to the Hapsburg empire, with Vienna as its supreme cultural capital, and it was that Austro-Hungarian dynasty thatindeed nearly single-handedly secured our Western musical traditions

a few Italians are remembered,from the 18th Century, Scarlatti maybe, Boccherini, Albinoni, but not many more

no one from France, but they were about to have a revolution, not a good time for creative types,though, incidentally, Haydn was getting Tost, to whom he was dedicating his string quartets for services rendered, to sell his stuff in very Paris

then again, Marie Antoinette, I thought, was Austrian, an even archduchess, and would’ve loved some down-home music at nearby Versailles

so there you are, there would’ve beena market

the English had Handel, of course,who was, albeit, German, getting work where he could when you consider his competition, he was too solemn and plodding by half,to my mind, for the more effervescent, admittedly Italianate, continentals, Italy having led the way earlier with especially its filigreed and unfettered operas

Haydn’s having a hard time, I think, moving from music for at court torecital hall music, music for a muchless genteel clientele, however socially aspiring, we still hear minuets, and obeisances all over the place, despite a desire to nevertheless dazzle, impress

then again, I’m not the final word, asmy mea culpa above might express, you’ll find what eventually turns your own crank, floats your own boat, as you listen

Haydn’s Opus 51 was commissioned for theOratorio de la Santa Cueva,the Holy Cave Oratory, in Cádiz, Spain, a church, as the name suggests, built partially underground, it would beperformed, the Opus 51, for the Good Friday service of 1787, Haydn therefore put his Opus 50on hold, six string quartets, to finish this ecclesiastical work on time

what had been required was a work for small orchestra to inform the Seven Last Words of our Saviour on the Cross, it would therefore have at leastsegments, movements, and would be divided by the elaboration of the bishop upon the significance of these individual “Words”, or, in fact,statements, see this example

Haydn added an introduction, and a finale in the form of an earthquake,quite, I think, wittily and ever so appropriately

to my mind “The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross” is Haydn’s crowning achievement, in all of its iterations

you’ll note that there is even first of all a title, and the title asks for something quite specific, indeed words, which the composer wouldhave to render musically, somehow, he’d need drama, something of a musical narrative, no minuets

all of the movements, apart from the end ones, are variations on slow – adagio, lento, largo, even grave – and how do you keep an audience, or in this case a congregation, happy, or even interested, with seven potentially lugubrious adagios in a row, all profoundly melancholy

only Shostakovich has managed to do that since, which I’ll talk about at some point later

Haydn also undoubtedly inspired Beethoven here with the consequences of so many movements, the possibility of extending a musical intentioninto something resembling,indeed, a book, a story, the introduction of narrative, essentially, into our musical history, which is to say, musicas literature

the orchestral version of “The Seven Last Words” is performed here at the very Oratorio de laSanta Cueva, thestring quartetversion, played not only better than I’ve ever heard it playedbefore, but better even than any other quartet I’ve ever heard, period, includes the commentaries in German by an attendant prelate,as intended in the original composition

the movements’ “Seven Words” are indicated in Latin, not, incidentally, the language of “Our Saviour”, and move from “Lord, why have you forsaken me” to “If it is Your will, then let it be done”

though I’d considered heading into later string quartets, later clarinetquintets actually, an intriguing, I thought, divergence, it seemed a better idea to return to the Classical and early Romantic Periods to find an anchor for our formative musical idiom, againrhythm, tonality, and recurrence

Carl Maria von Weber does an intermediate Clarinet Quintetbetween Mozart’s and Brahms’,which is noteworthy for especiallyits Classical roots than its Romantic pretensions, I think, Weber sounds nothing like Beethoven, but is a nearly spittingimage of Mozart, which isn’t a badposition at all to be in

listen for his courtliness, the staid,though lively, musical interactions